Moog Music was born when a young Bob Moog started tinkering with electronic circuitry. As a boy, Moog built small radios, amps, and theremins in his basement workshop with his father and the rest is history. This experimentation with the inner workings of electronic devices to create new sounds and effects has been developed into an art form known as circuit bending.

Circuit bending is a creative medium that combines technology, sonic artistry and creativity. By altering the internal circuitry of electronic devices such as keyboards, drum machines, and children's toys, circuit benders are able to produce new sounds not intended in the original design.

In celebration of this creative curiosity that fueled a young Bob Moog and all of those that follow in his footsteps, Moogfest issued their 4th annual circuit bending challenge in October and is now announcing MAKE Magazine as the official sponsor of the contest.

"We love the spirit of Moogfest which so aptly captures the curiosity, inspiration and enthusiasm of makers everywhere who love to tinker for tinkering's sake and in the process discover new ways to enhance their hobbies and passions, whether it's music and other creative pursuits," says Vickie Welch, vice president of marketing for Maker Media. "MAKE Magazine as the official media sponsor of Moogfest underscores our commitment to support events like this that gather makers together to collaborate, share ideas and embrace community."

MAKE will also be presenting the Music Makers panel as part of Moogfest's daytime programming. In the spirit of Bob Moog, music lovers and crazed inventors have created new instruments from the oddest materials, and MAKE Magazine invites everyone to tweak, hack, and bend technology to their own will. Presentations and performances, hosted by MAKE's editor Mark Frauenfelder, with Forrest Mims, author of Getting Started in Electronics; composer Nicolas Collins, author of Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking; Drew Blanke aka Dr. Blankenstein, mad scientist of analog synthesizers and atari punks; Jay Silver, founder of Makey Makey; and hacker/inventor Tom Zimmerman.

The finalists have embraced Bob Moog’s legacy of innovation and MAKE’s engagement in tech-savvy, do-it-yourself projects to bend and tweak every-day toys and devices to create new and exciting instruments.

MAKE’s own Mark Frauenfelder will be judging the finalists, joined by Google’s Ryan Germick and Moog Music’s Amos Gaynes and Andy Huges as co-judges. Judging will take place on Friday, April 25th from 11am-12pm in the Moog Store during Moogfest.